Nursing in an Aging American

Nursing in an Aging America

For every person aged 65+ in 2000 there will be almost two by 2030.[1]

That makes one in seven Americans today over the age of 65.[2]

Profile:
25.1 million are women (56.2%)
19.6 million are men (43.8%)
78.8% are white
21.2% are minority

And they’re active:
28% of older Americans live alone
536,000 grandparents 65+ have primary responsibility for their grandchildren
(slightly more than 1 in 100 if you want to plot that way)
By 2022 31.9% of the workforce will be ages 65-75[5]

And America’s just getting older.

The average American reaching 65 today are expected to live 19.3 years
20.5 for females
17.9 for males

With the population 85+ expected to nearly triple from 2013-2040
2013: 6 million
2040: 14.6 million

The Bad News:

Nurses are aging too:
Average age of working nurses: 50
RNs expected to retire/leave the workforce by 2022: 555,100 (one in five)
Percentage of nurses under 40:
1980: 54%
1992: 44.8%
2000:31.7%
2004:26.6%
2008:29.5%

Aging America needs not only more nurses, but more educated nurses.[6]

2000:
50% of the RN workforce hold a bachelors degree or higher
2010:
55% of the RN workforce hold a bachelors degree or higher
2020:
The Institute of Medicine states we need 80% of the RN workforce to hold bachelors degrees or higher[7]

Who know how to use more technology
[largest emerging technologies in relation to nursing]

Largest perceived barriers to attaining nursing leadership:[9]
[percentage of nurses seeing the following as a major barrier]
Nurses, as compared to physicians, are not seen as revenue generators: 75.97%
Lack of visibility of nurses in policy making: 70.43%
Lack of a single voice among nurses in speaking on state issues: 68.06%
Public perception of nurses roles, as compared to physicians, as important health care decision makers: 67.6%

Who’s going to take care of you when you’re old?
[current Registered Nurses per 100,000 residents][6]